A History of English Literature

written discussions, or may be assigned to individual students for oral
reports in class. Oral reports should be either written out in full and
read or given from notes; they should occupy five or ten minutes each and
may include illustrative quotations. 1. The effect of Macaulay's
self-confidence and dogmatism on the power of his writing and on the
reader's feeling toward it. 2. His power in exposition; e.g., the number
and concreteness of details, the power of selection, emphasis, and bringing
out the essentials. 3. Structure, including Unity, Proportion, Movement. 4.
Traits of style; e.g., use of antithesis and figures of speech; sentence
length and balance. 5. How far does his lack of Idealism injure his work?
Has he the power of appealing to the grand romantic imagination? 6. His
power in description. 7. Power as a historian. Compare him with other
historians.
43. CARLYLE. Two days. Above, pages 309-314. Unless you are already
familiar with 'Sartor Resartus' read in it Book II, chapters 6-9, and also
if by any means possible Book III, chapters 5 and 8. Otherwise read in
'Heroes and Hero-Worship' or 'The French Revolution.' (The first and third
books of 'Sartor Resartus' purport to consist of extracts from a printed
book of Teufelsdrockh, with comments by Carlyle; the second book outlines
Teufelsdrockh's (Carlyle's) spiritual autobiography.) In 'Sartor Resartus':
1. Make sure that you can tell definitely the precise meaning of The
Everlasting No, The Center of Indifference, and The Everlasting Yea. Look
up, e. g. in 'The Century Dictionary,' all terms that you do not
understand, such as 'Baphometic Fire-Baptism.' 2. Your general opinion of
his style? 3. Note definitely its main peculiarities in (a) spirit; (b)
vocabulary and word forms; (c) grammar and rhetoric.
44. RUSKIN. Two days. Above, pages 314-319. Most convenient for the
purposes of this study is Tinker's 'Selections from Ruskin' (Riverside
Literature Series). Everything there is worth while; but among the best
passages are 'The Throne,' page 138, and 'St. Mark's,' page 150; while
pages 20-57 are rather more technical than the rest. Among Ruskin's
complete works 'Sesame and Lilies,' 'The Crown of Wild Olives,' and
'Praterita' are as available and characteristic as any. Subjects for
written or oral reports: 1. His temperament and his fitness as a critic and
teacher. 2. His style--eloquence, rhythm, etc. 3. His power of observation.
4. His power in description. Consider both his sensitiveness to
sense-impressions and his imagination. 5. His expository power. 6. His
ideas on Art. How far are they sound? (In the 'Selections' there are
relevant passages on pages 164, 200, and 233.) 7. His religious ideas. How
far do they change with time? 8. His ideas on modern political economy and
modern life. How far are they reasonable? (Perhaps 'Munera Pulveris' or
'Unto This Last' states his views as well as any other one of his works.)
9. Compare with Carlyle in temperament, ideas, and usefulness.
45. MATTHEW ARNOLD. Three days. Above, pages 319-325. The poems read should
include 'Sohrab and Rustum' and a number of the shorter ones. The
discussion of the poems may treat: The combination in Arnold of classic and
romantic qualities; distinguishing traits of emotion and expression; and,
in 'Sohrab and Rustum,' narrative qualities. If you are familiar with
Homer, consider precisely the ways in which Arnold imitates Homer's style.
Of the prose works best read 'Culture and Anarchy,' at least the
introduction (not the Preface), chapters 1, 3, 4 and 5, and the Conclusion.
Otherwise read from the essays named in the text or from Professor L. E.
Gates' volume of Selections from Arnold. Consider more fully any of the
points treated above. If you read the 'Essays on Translating Homer' note
the four main qualities which Arnold finds in Homer's style.